PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
HIS HOLINESS ARAM I RECEIVES THE AMBASSADOR OF THE UNITED STATES
The Ambassador of the United States to Lebanon, Jeffrey Feltman, visited His
Holiness Aram I in Bikfaya on August 30.
The Ambassador and His Holiness Aram I met for an hour and a half during
which discussions focused on the post-war efforts exerted by the various
Lebanese communities. His Holiness expressed his views on the peace process
and the importance of preserving the integrity of the Middle East.
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of the
Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenia Fund USA, Inc.
152 Madison Ave, S-803
New York, NY 10016, U.S.A.
T/1-212-689-5307
F/1-212-689-5317
E-mail: [email protected]
URL:
Armenia Fund USA Joins the Civil Society Voice of the UN
NEW YORK, New York – “If the United Nations’ global agenda is to be properly
addressed, a partnership with civil society at large is not an option, it is
a necessity.” This is how United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan
defines non-governmental organizations’ (NGOs) partnership with the world
body and the importance of a unified vision to tackle global challenges that
range from poverty eradication to provision of clean drinking water, from
halting the spread of deadly disease to bringing sustainability in the
social and economic development of the world’s impoverished.

Approved by the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations of the
Department of Public Information (DPI) in July 2006, Armenia Fund USA joined
the United Nations’ family of NGOs as an organization with extensive
expertise in international development and humanitarian activities in
Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. In its capacity to support the aims and most
humane purposes of the world organization and more than 1500 NGOs that work
closely with it, the Fund’s accreditation to the United Nations comes as a
continuous commitment to its mission of bringing long-term sustainable
development to men, women and children in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.
Although having always had strong ties with civil society and private
sector, the United Nations’ relations with NGOs have significantly evolved
over the past twenty years. This broadening included a very active inclusion
of a wide range of entities, global organizations of various missions, and,
most importantly, civil society groups in the day-to-day work and decision
making of the UN. From the peripheral part, initially assigned to them,
these actors today play a major role in raising awareness on a wide range of
issues on a global level.
The UN Department of Public Information is the central source of information
dissemination about the work of the UN and its cooperation with the civil
society. More than 1,500 non-governmental organizations and advocacy groups
are currently associated with the UN through the DPI.
Founded in 1992 as part of Hayastan All-Armenian Fund and incorporated as
Armenia Fund USA in 1995, the Fund’s mission is providing large-scale
infrastructure and self-sustainable development to Armenia and Karabakh.
Initially mandated with the task of providing humanitarian aid following
Armenia’s independence from the Soviet Union, the Fund has evolved over
years into an organization that has an impressive track record of having
successfully completed a diverse range of large-scale infrastructure and
self-sustainable development programs in the region. From combating poverty
to providing jobs, empowering farming communities in poor and rural areas to
strengthening civil society’s involvement in the development and transition
process of Armenia, the Fund has largely contributed to the overall economic
development, social reform and encouragement of civic activism in the
country.
Today Armenia Fund USA joins the forum of like-minded organizations and
partners to promote higher standards of living toward social progress and
development.

AHMEDOGLU: “KASPRZYK HAS NEVER GIVEN OBJECTIVE INFORMATION CONCERNING AZERBAIJAN”
Today, Azerbaijan
Aug. 30, 2006
Fires in territories, bordering to Nagorno Karabakh, have been lasting
for about two months.
Recently, the personal envoy of the OSCE chairman-in-office Andrzej
Kasprzyk monitored the territory in order to clarify causes of the
fires. According to the diplomat, “hot weather, which has early set in,
and strong winds are reason, which caused fact that area in contact
line’s zone, enveloped in fires, turned out to be considerably bigger,
comparing with ones in previous years.”
Political Innovations and Technologies Center Chairman Mubariz
Ahmedoglu commented on arisen situation.
Mr. Ahmedoglu, personal envoy of the OSCE chairman-in-office Andrzej
Kasprzyk stated that fires in territories, bordering to Nagorno
Karabakh, were not caused by Armenians, as the Azerbaijani side
maintains, but they were caused by heat, wind, and other natural
phenomena. To what extent, in your opinion, his words correspond
with reality?
When the fires began, the weather was not hot. If they had been
lasting for 15 last days, i.e. when the weather was really hot,
his words could be considered seriously. The matter concerns other
thing here. Armenians realizes very good; they should return Agdam,
Fizuli, and other occupied areas to Azerbaijan; that is why, they
committed arsons. As for Kasprzyk…It is worth mentioning, he has
never given objective information concerning Azerbaijan. Even during
his stay at the fire line, he succeeded in not making notes of shots
from the Armenian side.
Let’s ignore Kasprzyk’s words. Finally, Armenian officials and mass
media went much further, maintaining that the fires were made by
Azeri soldiers, who shot fire-bullets at territories, controlled by
Armenian servicemen…
No Azeri would set fire to native land under any circumstances. It is
enough to remind old parable in order to prove absurdity of Armenian
statements. Two women came to King Solomon, each of them maintaining,
she was mother of baby. The King ordered to bring the baby and
pronounced sentence. The child should be cut up in two parts in
order to give each woman one part, because none of them could prove
its right on the child. One of the women stayed absolutely calm,
while the other one fell to the king’s foots, crying and refusing
her claims on the child. The wise king ordered to hand over the baby
to the woman, who immediately refused her mother right in order to
rescue the child. Probably, no further commentaries are necessary.
URL:

AZERBAIJANI ANALYST: KASPRZYK HAS NEVER GIVEN OBJECTIVE INFORMATION CONCERNING AZERBAIJAN
Regnum, Russia
Aug. 30, 2006
Fires in territories, bordering to Nagorno Karabakh, have been
lasting for about two months. Recently, the personal envoy of the OSCE
chairman-in-office Andrzej Kasprzyk monitored the territory in order to
clarify causes of the fires. According to the diplomat, “hot weather,
which has early set in, and strong winds are reason, which caused fact
that area in contact line’s zone, enveloped in fires, turned out to be
considerably bigger, comparing with ones in previous years.” Requested
by a REGNUM correspondent, Political Innovations and Technologies
Center Chairman Mubariz Ahmedoglu commented on arisen situation.
REGNUM: Mr. Ahmedoglu, personal envoy of the OSCE chairman-in-office
Andrzej Kasprzyk stated that fires in territories, bordering to
Nagorno Karabakh, were not caused by Armenians, as the Azerbaijani
side maintains, but they were caused by heat, wind, and other natural
phenomena. To what extent, in your opinion, his words correspond
with reality?
When the fires began, the weather was not hot. If they had been
lasting for 15 last days, i.e. when the weather was really hot,
his words could be considered seriously. The matter concerns other
thing here. Armenians realizes very good; they should return Agdam,
Fizuli, and other occupied areas to Azerbaijan; that is why, they
committed arsons. As for Kasprzyk…It is worth mentioning, he has
never given objective information concerning Azerbaijan. Even during
his stay at the fire line, he succeeded in not making notes of shots
from the Armenian side.
REGNUM: Let’s ignore Kasprzyk’s words. Finally, Armenian officials and
mass media went much further, maintaining that the fires were made
by Azeri soldiers, who shot fire-bullets at territories, controlled
by Armenian servicemen…
No Azeri would set fire to native land under any circumstances. It is
enough to remind old parable in order to prove absurdity of Armenian
statements. Two women came to King Solomon, each of them maintaining,
she was mother of baby. The King ordered to bring the baby and
pronounced sentence. The child should be cut up in two parts in
order to give each woman one part, because none of them could prove
its right on the child. One of the women stayed absolutely calm,
while the other one fell to the king’s foots, crying and refusing
her claims on the child. The wise king ordered to hand over the baby
to the woman, who immediately refused her mother right in order to
rescue the child. Probably, no further commentaries are necessary.

TWO PLUS TWO
San Francisco Bay Guardian, CA
Aug. 30, 2006
Erin Gilley’s Picks
1. “365 Days/365 Plays” Suzan-Lori Parks wrote a play for each day
of the year. They’ll be performed all year by artists nationwide, and
San Francisco will be a huge part of the largest theater collaboration
in history. A stunt, but a really cool one. Begins Nov.
13. SF venues TBA.
2. Big Love Not the HBO show – living, breathing theater, with a big
prize for the ugliest bridesmaid’s dress in the audience. Sept.
28-Oct. 21. Traveling Jewish Theatre, 470 Florida, SF. $15-$30.
1-800-838-3006,
Erin Gilley is general manager of Crowded Fire Theater.
JOHN WILKINS’S PICKS
1. Hamlet: Blood on the Brain In a nifty display of relocation,
Campo Santo transports the classic play from Denmark to our own
drug-ravaged Oakland in the 1980s. If any theater group can make
concept Shakespeare soar, this is the one – simply the best acting
core in the Bay Area. Oct. 26-Nov. 20. Intersection for the Arts,
446 Valencia, SF. $9-$20. (415) 626-2787,
2. DEFIXONES: Orders From the Dead If you’ve heard Diamanda Galas
sing, you’ve been amazed or shocked in the depths of your soul. Here,
her three-and-a-half octave voice takes on the Armenian genocide in
what promises to be a theatrical assault you won’t soon forget. Oct.
19 and 21. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater, 701 Mission, SF.
$15-$35. (415) 978-2787,
SFBG
John Wilkins is artistic director of Last Planet Theatre.

IRANIAN “ESCAPE” SOUNDTRACK RECORDED IN ARMENIA
Tehran Times, Iran
Aug. 30, 2006
TEHRAN — Iranian composer Peyman Yazdanian finished recording some
parts of a soundtrack for Niki Karimi’s “Escape” in Armenia, he told
the MNA on Saturday.
“I was familiar with her work style since I had composed a soundtrack
for her previous film ‘One Night’,” Yazdanian added.
The classic pieces of “Escape” soundtrack were recorded in Armenia
for better quality, he explained. “The soundtrack has been mostly
played by piano, flute, and cello.”
“Escape” is the second film of Karimi as a directress and tells
the story of Shahrzad, a girl who has to make crucial decisions in
her life.
The film stars Karimi and Nilufar Khoshkholq.

TV’S LEAST DESPERATE HOUSEWIFE
by Alex Strachan, CanWest News Service
Edmonton Journal (Alberta)
August 30, 2006 Wednesday
Final Edition
Mary-Louise Parker returns in offbeat ‘dramedy’ Weeds for a second
season
WEEDS Starring: Mary-Louise Parker Time and channel: 11 tonight
on Showcase
Chalk one up to pot luck. Mary-Louise Parker is flying high after her
potentially career-defining role in the smokin’ Weeds, the black comedy
about a dope-dealing soccer mom that returns to Showcase today, two
weeks after its second-season debut on the U.S. cable channel Showtime.
In a recent conference call with reporters, Parker confirmed that she
is into Weeds for the long haul, even though she’s as different from
her character as night and day.
“I think she’s a bit reckless,” Parker said. “She isn’t someone who
thinks ahead.”
Weeds is one of those hard-to-pin-down comedic dramas — dramedies
— that blurs the line between right and wrong, for the sake of
philosophical argument and discussions around the office water cooler
or cafe bar.
Earlier this year, Parker was shocked to win the Golden Globe over
the Desperate Housewives actresses for her performance as Weeds’
morally challenged suburban mom Nancy Botwin — the “least desperate
housewife,” as Entertainment Weekly called her after her Golden
Globe win.
Parker was snubbed at this year’s Emmy nominations, but she has won
before: She won both an Emmy and Golden Globe for playing Harper Pitt,
the valium-addicted wife of a closeted gay lawyer, in Mike Nichols’s
epic six-and-a-half-hour HBO adaptation of Tony Kushner’s Broadway
play Angels in America. She also won a best-actress Tony Award,
in 2001, for Proof.
Thanks to Weeds, though, Parker’s profile has never been hotter —
not even when she played women’s rights activist Amelia (Amy) Gardner
in The West Wing in 2001.
“The very first movie I ever did in my life ran for two days and
tanked. I was so excited before it came out. But that taught me not
to have any expectations, and so I never do have expectations. If
anything, I thought some people would be pretty offended by this. I
didn’t think it would necessarily be something that people would dig.
“So I guess it has been kind of surprising.”
Weeds’ second season will turn up the heat, literally and figuratively,
Parker promises. That bit of business with the Armenian gangsters,
for example: It looked as if it had been settled once and for all,
but appearances can be deceiving. The Armenians may be back.
And they may be angry.
JUSTICE FOR ALL
Justice, the new courtroom drama from Jerry Bruckheimer and one-time
Janet Reno assistant counsel Jonathan Shapiro, opens with brisk,
slick urgency: A Malibu starlet is found floating face-down in her
swimming pool and the media is all over the crime scene.
Local police arrest the starlet’s husband, a real estate tycoon
(Kevin Tramell), for her murder. He swears it was an accident, and
he turns to the high-profile law firm of Trott, Nicholson, Tuller &
Graves — TNT&G, get it? — for help.
TNT&G swoops in, in the person of star attorney Ron Trott (London,
Ont.’s Victor Garber, chewing scenery like there’s no tomorrow),
while a grotesque, Nancy Grace-like TV talk-show host (Katherine La
Nasa) ridicules the defence’s case on a 24-hour news channel that
looks suspiciously like CNN but isn’t.
Justice is pure Bruckheimer — CSI from the defendant’s point of
view. It’s big, noisy, slick to look at, snappy to listen to and quick
to push buttons. If it weren’t so well made, it could be dismissed as
trash — Justice is so over-the-top, it makes Law & Order look like
Bleak House by comparison — but there are some things to recommend it.
For one, it focuses on the media coverage of trials, from the fictional
Nancy Grace-inspired cable show American Crime to the hoards of
reporters and photographers who swarm high-profile court cases,
jostling and elbowing each other aside for the best camera position.
For another, each episode ends with a flashback in which viewers
find out whether the accused actually did the deed. It’s a clever
gimmick, but with a potential downside: If viewers feel they have
been manipulated once too often, they may tune out.
By premiering a couple of weeks before the official start of the
season, though, Justice has a chance to reel in curiousity seekers
before the crush begins in earnest. The jury is out on where it goes
from there, but my guess is it will be strong enough to last the
season. (9 p.m. on CTV, 10 p.m. on Fox)
GRAPHIC: Photo: Supplied; Mary-Louise Parker didn’t think her role
in Weeds as a dope-dealing soccer mom would catch the attention of
viewers as much as it has.

WILL TURKEY TAKE PART IN THE WAR ON THE SIDE OF GEORGIA?
by Vadim Novikov
Translated by Pavel Pushkin
Source: Severny Kavkaz (Nalchik), No. 33, August 22-28, 2006, p. EV
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
August 30, 2006 Wednesday
Can The Turkish-Georgian Military Cooperation Lead To Participation
Of Turkey In The Abkhaz-Ossetian Or Ossetian-Georgian Conflict?
As a rule, when these or those authors touch on the topic of
Turkish-Georgian military cooperation they very seldom cover the
aspect of “involvement” of Turkey into the Abkhaz-Georgian and
Ossetian-Georgian conflicts. The explanation is very simple. This
is practical absence of information that can through light at this
aspect of Turkish-Georgian relations at least indirectly. Meanwhile,
Turkey is broadly represented in Georgia, to a big extent in the
military field. Practically everyone who have visited Tbilisi in the
last four to five years say that there are many Turkish military and
various Turkish citizens in general in the Georgian capital.
As a rule, when these or those authors touch on the topic of
Turkish-Georgian military cooperation they very seldom cover the
aspect of “involvement” of Turkey into the Abkhaz-Georgian and
Ossetian-Georgian conflicts. The explanation is very simple. This
is practical absence of information that can through light at this
aspect of Turkish-Georgian relations at least indirectly. Meanwhile,
Turkey is broadly represented in Georgia, to a big extent in the
military field. Practically everyone who have visited Tbilisi in the
last four to five years say that there are many Turkish military and
various Turkish citizens in general in the Georgian capital.
Turkey is represented in Abkhazia too and this has begun a long time
ago. We need to say a few words explaining why the Turkish party
cannot ignore the Abkhaz problem. This circumstance is connected with
history of the 19th century and results of the Caucasian War won by
Russia. There was exodus of Moslem Abkhaz people, so-called muhadzhirs,
from Abkhazia after that. Now there are from 500,000 to 800,000 people
considering themselves descendants of Abkhaz mukhadzhirs living in
Turkey, whereas about 100,000 Abkhaz people being mostly Orthodox
Christians live in Abkhazia. The Abkhaz Diaspora in Turkey is very
active. The Committee of Solidarity Caucasus-Abkhazia was established
immediately after beginning of the war in August of 1992. The center
is located in Istanbul and the committee is accredited by official
Ankara and lobbies Abkhaz interests. During the war the committee
provided humanitarian, human and financial aid to Abkhazia.
In various years the Abkhaz community of Turkey also tried to organize
repatriation of Turkish Abkhaz people to their native land.
Thus, according to Turkish information, up to 2,000 repatriates
already moved to Abkhazia and established Turkish college Basharan
in Gagra. The Abkhaz community of Turkey enjoys support on the part
of the emigrants from the North Caucasus living there, of which there
are about 6-7 million people.
Turkish businessmen are also very active in Abkhazia. The major part
of Turkish businessmen works in coal production. Turkey is one of the
main trading partners of Abkhazia. The sea is the main trading route.
Georgia has always tried to hinder this trade. Thus, Georgian border
guards frequently arrested Turkish ships near the coasts of Abkhazia
according to accusations of trespassing of territorial waters.
In the period of combat operations in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhaz
conflict the Turkish Abkhaz people provide a certain support to the
Abkhaz party. For instance, approximately 200 volunteers from Turkey
fought on the side of Abkhazia. Former President of Abkhazia V.
Ardzinba even visited Turkey and called on Ankara to develop relations
with Abkhazia. Such loyal stance of Turkey towards the authorities
of Abkhazia was conditioned by pressure on the part of the Abkhaz
Diaspora of this country and representatives of other Caucasian ethnic
groups living in Turkey, namely Circassian and Adyg people. However,
starting from the second half of the 1990s geopolitical aspect started
prevailing in the stance of Turkey. Due to the closed border with
Armenia Georgia became the only way for Turkey for communication with
Azerbaijan and Central Asian republics.
Interests of Turkey were also connected with Georgia because of the oil
pipeline Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, gas pipeline project Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum
and railway Baku-Tbilisi-Kars. According to Turkish analysts, the axis
Turkey-Georgia-Azerbaijan also contributes to breaking of strategically
opposite axis Russia-Armenia-Iran.
Georgia is also the shortest way for Turkey to the North Caucasus, for
instance, to Chechnya. It was known that the “corridor” Turkey-Georgia
was very often used by members of illegal armed forces that fought
against Russian federal troops in the North Caucasus and by the
bandit formations of international terrorists that helped them. That
is why in official statements Turkey started supporting territorial
integrity of Georgia and emphasizing importance for resolving of the
Abkhaz-Georgian conflict by a peaceful way in the framework of this
territorial integrity.
Along with this, military cooperation of Turkey with Georgia began
between 1992 and 1993. It grew more intensive and closer starting
from 1995-1996 when Georgian authorities started speaking about their
orientation at entrance into NATO for the first time. Since then
Turkey has been actually a “curator” of Georgia in the framework of
its integration with NATO. Hence, Turkey is the most active in this
field. Thus, a part of commanders of the Georgian armed forces have
passed and still pass training in Turkey and Turkish officers train
some divisions of the Georgian army including special forces units.
In February of 2005, Georgian Defense Minister I. Okruashvili was
on a three-day official visit to Turkey dedicated to discussion of
prospects of closer military cooperation.
Turkey also participates in projects for modernization of Georgian
armed forces. Thus, on December 25 of 2005, the military airfield
in Marneuli refurbished by Turkish armed forces was handed over to
the Defense Ministry of Georgia. Approximately $3 million was spent
on construction of the airfield. At the end of 2005, Turkey also
allocated $2.1 million for needs of the Georgian army and the major
part of this sum was spent on purchase of equipment necessary for the
Defense Ministry of Georgia by the Turkish party. A long time before
2005, some Turkish analysts expressed their assurance that some time
after withdrawal of Russian military bases from Georgia their place
would be occupied by Turkish military contingents.
Actually, if we bear in mind that almost immediately after “reception”
the Georgian party “leased” the Marneuli military airfield to Turkish
military pilots and this airfield was located not very far from the
former Russian military base in Vaziani where presence of Turkish
military was also noticed despite that Georgian authorities promised
Russia and Armenia that bases of any foreign countries would not
be deployed on the site of Russian bases and that these bases would
be used only for Georgian army, it is possible to say that Turkish
military have stayed in Georgia for two or three years. That is
why when quite recently it was announced that Georgian authorities
decided to provide the military airfield in Senaki to Turkish military
pilots allegedly for participation of Turkish military aviation in
extinguishing of forest fires in the territory of Georgia this caused
strong suspicions that official Tbilisi simply granted the second
air base in its territory to Turkey under a good pretext.
Besides, there is also information that in the framework of the
American program of military aid to Georgia “Train and equip” Georgian
special forces have been trained not only by Americans but also by
their Turkish colleagues for a long time. Is it necessary to recall
where the Georgian special forces have been found afterwards?
These were not they who tried to surround and storm Tskhinvali,
the capital of South Ossetia, last summer, were they? Authorities
of Abkhazia speak not about their deployment in the Kodori Gorge,
do they? Along with this, Abkhaz authorities do not rule out and even
expect that Georgia may try to restart the war.
The airfield in Senaki, for example, is located very close to
the borders of Abkhazia and Georgia and the flight time from it to
Abkhazia is very short. Nobody controls actions of Turkish military on
this airfield. This means that nobody can know for sure if only the
“fire extinguishing” airplanes of the Turkish Air Force are based
there or purely combat aviation joins them soon and will be able to
participate in “unnoticed” bomb dropping in Abkhazia later.
Along with this, Turkey keeps playing the role of a kind of caring
“curator” Abkhazia. Observers remembered that after each shout from
Tbilisi that Georgian party would soon achieve withdrawal of the
peacekeepers from the CIS from the zone of the Abkhaz-Georgian conflict
various officials from Ankara arrived to Sukhumi immediately. They
tried to persuade both the previous and the incumbent presidents
of Abkhazia that after withdrawal of Russian soldiers forming the
backbone of the peacekeepers of the CIS Turkish military should occupy
their place. To maintain confidence of Abkhaz authorities in Turkey
Ankara sometimes spoke about very serious forms of cooperation. Thus,
on April 19 President of Abkhazia Sergei Bagapsh commented on the
situation related to the project of restoration of a through railway
communication through Abkhazia and said that Azerbaijan, Turkey
and Iran manifested their interest in it lately. Reacting to this
statement of Bagapsh on April 28 the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry,
which probably worried about the future of the Georgian-Azerbaijani
relations, announced that Baku never expressed its interest in
restoration of railway communication through Abkhazia in verbal or
written form because it considered this to be an internal affair of
friendly Georgia and that “Azerbaijan does not have any contacts with
the self-proclaimed republic.” It is necessary to say that there has
been official denial of the words of Bagapsh on the part of Turkey
and Iran then.
Of course, it is possible that there will be no open participation of
Turkey in possible combat operations of Georgia against Abkhazia and
South Ossetia. Ankara definitely will not wish to receive internal
instability because various organizations of Caucasian mountain
ethnic groups may achieve a situation when Turkish authorities feel
their discontent. At any rate, it is impossible to rule out that
some Turkish military instructors may appear in this or that conflict
zone. We can recall how many times Russian special services have had
to arrest and even physically destroy “retired” officers of Turkish
armed forces in Chechnya. Naturally, they came to the North Caucasus
through Georgia. Moreover, in Tbilisi there is a kind of headquarters
of special services that does frank espionage against Armenia and
Russia under coverage of some British generals. It is impossible to
rule out that “if necessary” these will be Turkish pilots who take off
from the airfields of Marneuli and Senaki and bomb Abkhazia and South
Ossetia. Mercenaries represent a familiar factor in regional (local)
inter-ethnic conflicts. Turks have already got used to fulfillment
of the role of mercenaries in the Caucasus.

ARMENIA NOT TO SEND PEACEKEEPERS TO LEBANON
by Tigran Liloyan
ITAR-TASS News Agency
August 30, 2006 Wednesday 06:20 AM EST
The Armenian president’s spokesman said that Armenia is not going
yet to send its peacekeepers to Lebanon.
“At present, Armenia is not going to send its contingent for a
peacekeeping mission in the area of the Israeli-Lebanese conflict,”
the president’s press secretary Viktor Sogomonyan told reporterson
Wedbesday.
He cited as a reason uncertainty of the mandate of peacekeepers
in Lebanon.
Besides, Armenia is concerned about the interests of the Armenian
community of 130,000 in Lebanon.
The presence of peacekeepers from Armenia could prove of negative
consequences for the Armenian diaspora in this country, Sogomonyan
said.
“We are interested in the establishment of peace in Lebanon,” Armenian
Deputy Foreign Minister Gegan Garibdhzanyan said last week.
He said that the republic had its peacekeepers “who are efficiently
fulfilling their mission in Kosovo and Iraq”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

FORMER MINISTERS DISMISS REPORT ON ARMENIAN ARTUR BROTHERS AS COVER-UP
The Nation, Kenya
Aug. 30, 2006
The report into the scandal of the Armenian Artur brothers was
yesterday dismissed as a cover up by two former Cabinet ministers –
and as a waste of time and public resources by the country’s leading
lawyers.
Former ministers Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka claimed the report,
presented to President Kibaki on Monday, was tailored to clear
suspended CID chief Joseph Kamau of any responsibility and to shift
the blame elsewhere.
And for the Law Society of Kenya, council member Evans Monari said:
“Nothing has been achieved. It is a waste of time. They have told us
what we already knew.”
Asked whether the MPs committee on the Administration of Justice and
Legal Affairs should continue with its investigations, Mr Monari said
yesterday there was no need for further investigations and that the
matter should be left to the police and courts for action.
They were reacting to an exclusive story in yesterday’s Daily Nation
which reported the comments of people who had read the report before
it was presented to the President.
The report was said to have cleared CID director Mr Joseph Kamau,
who is suspended from duty, of any blame and recommended that he be
given back his job.
It was also said to criticise police commissioner Mohamed Hussein
Ali for ignoring the police chain of command.
Mr Kamau welcomed the commission’s reported findings saying, “they
reflected the reality.”
“I’m happy the commission cleared my name,” he said.
Asked why he did not appear before it, Mr Kamau said: “If no witness
gave any evidence associating me with the Armenian brothers or
implicated me in any wrongdoing, what was I supposed to go there
and say?”
“In the eyes of the commission, I was an accused person and it was
upon the accuser to bring evidence against me. No evidence was adduced
and that confirms that I was wrongly suspended,” he said.
Mr Kamau denied any association with the foreigners.
Maj Gen Ali declined to comment, saying he had not read the report.
Mr Musyoka said by telephone yesterday: “Any attempts to clear the
suspended CID chief and implicate police commissioner Mohamed Hussein
Ali would be blocked at all costs.”
He added that although he had nothing personal against either Mr
Kamau or Maj-Gen Ali, the police commissioner handled the Arturs
affair properly.
“He took the right decision,” the Mwingi North MP said.
Mr Musyoka promised to issue a comprehensive statement later, while
Mr Odinga said he would address a Press conference on the Kiruki
report today.
Previously Mr Odinga claimed Mr Kamau was a frequent visitor to the
house rented by the Arturs, in the upmarket Nairobi suburb of Runda –
claims that were denied by Mr Kamau.
The Lang’ata MP has also claimed the Arturs were connected to people
holding high offices in Government and with influence in Government
circles, in which connection he named political activist Mary Wambui.
Both Mr Odinga and Mr Musyoka said they would not appear before the
Kiruki commission when it was formed by President Kibaki in July.
They dismissed it as “comprised of the President’s friends”, and Mr
Odinga dismissed it as a “whitewash and a waste of tax payers’ money”
the moment it was appointed.
People who have read the commission’s report said it criticised Maj Gen
Ali for apparently ignoring the usual chain of command by appointing
Mr Osugo, the then deputy provincial CID boss, to take charge of the
Arturs affair, bypassing Mr Kamau and the then Nairobi provincial
CID head, Mr Sammy Githui.
Mr Osugo was ordered to investigate claims by Mr Odinga and Mr Musyoka
that the Armenian brothers were mercenaries and that they had been
hired by the Government to assassinate them.
Maj-Gen Ali had acted in a manner suggesting he had no faith in Mr
Kamau and then Nairobi provincial CID chief Sammy Githui by overlooking
them and dealing directly with Mr Osugo, their junior.
The report indicated incompetence and in some cases collusion by
Government workers who allowed the two Armenians to break the law
and shame the country.
The police came under fire for failing to act on Interpol tips exposing
the Arturs as fraudsters and international criminals travelling on
forged and stolen passports, say those who read the report.
The police raid on the Arturs home in Runda came four hours after
an alert was sounded, giving the two time to conceal or tamper with
evidence, it states.
The sources also say the report censures the handling of the search
at the Arturs’ home, branding it “amateurish” and claiming police
failed to respond promptly to an alert by the Kenya Airports Police
Unit to arrest the brothers after a security breach at JKIA.
Meanwhile, questions were being asked as to why the two MPs and a
number of other social and business associates of the Artur brothers
were not called to give evidence to the inquiry.
Those who were mentioned at the inquiry and were never called include
Mr Kamau, Maj Gen Ali, Ms Winnie Wangui, a civil servant who is the
daughter of Ms Wambui, and even Mr Osugo.
Also not summoned was Official Opposition leader Uhuru Kenyatta, who
had called a Press conference and stated that he had information that
the Artur brothers had twice visited State House in February this year.
Others not summoned include Mr Alois Omita and Mr Julius Maina who
were business associates of the Artur brothers.
Ms Wangui, along with Mr Omita and Mr Maina were named at the inquiry
as co-directors of Kensington Holdings Ltd, a company said to have
been involved in a series of forgeries.
Mr Maina was earlier named as a man who claimed to be from State
House on the day the Artur brothers stage-managed a Press conference
at JKIA so it appeared as though they had just flown in.